The third day-trip in my series of Day-trips in Tuscany takes us to the east to visit some of the cuter, smaller villages that we love. You can take this route in either direction, depending on where you want to … Read More
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Day-trips in Tuscany #2 – The Hills of Northern Chianti
Guests who come to stay at our Chianti villa rentals near Castellina in Chianti are often looking for day-trip ideas. A couple of weeks back I described our most popular day-trip, to San Gimignano and Volterra. This week I’m heading north of Patrignone … Read More
Day-trips in Tuscany #1 – San Gimignano, Colle & Volterra
Guests at our agriturismo in Chianti are always asking us for ideas for day-trips, and so we’ve got good and creating manageable tours that won’t leave you exhausted. And here’s the first. It’s one of our most popular days out. … Read More
Two fantastic wine fairs in Tuscany
The grapes are fat and juicy, the harvest is in full flow, and so is the wine. Because while people are toiling in the fields breaking their backs picking the new grapes, lots of other people are tasting huge quantities … Read More
Want the best fruit & veg at the best prices? Head to a market in Tuscany.
There are dozens of produce markets in Tuscany every day of the week. No matter where you are staying, there will be a daily market somewhere near you. And while the quality of the fruit and vegetables sold in the … Read More
Certaldo – a classy medieval town with beautiful atmosphere
Now, our agriturismo is in the very centre of the Chianti Classico wine region, and with so many beautiful towns to see near us, sometimes it’s hard not to feel a little disloyal to suggest places to see outside the area. … Read More
Another great local Tuscan restaurant – La Torre, Castellina in Chianti
So, with a lot of family staying with us this last week, we’ve been eating out more than usual. And La Torre is another excellent local family-run restaurant where we know we’ll get excellent food at very decent prices. Any restaurant … Read More
Mercantia – an enchanted experience in a medieval setting
We’ve been to Mercantia before, but never with young kids. So we were a little worried about the crowds. But we needn’t have stressed. They absolutely loved it, and it wasn’t as crazy as we had feared. We went on … Read More
Chinese food in Tuscany? You’ve got to be kidding. Right?
Only, I’m not kidding. Yes, we all know Italian cuisine is the best in the World, and that Tuscan food is amazing, but when you live here, and you’ve come from the UK where we’re used to a million different … Read More
Drama, excitement, intrigue…donkeys…what more do you want?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDE4ow36PDQ You’ve seen the Palio, Senese-style, now see the Palio, San Donato-style. Intrigue, excitement, near-death accidents, flag-waving, this has it all. There’s great street-food, lots of stalls selling arts & crafts, games for the kids, processions, drummers, flag-throwers. We got … Read More